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"He has spoken with Dec and ITV today and asked for time off for the foreseeable future. As such ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ will not be going ahead this Saturday.”

ITV released its own statement, confirming this week's show will not go ahead, and that Dec may front the popular series alone for the remaining two weeks.

The car after the crash

“ITV has taken a joint decision with Ant and Dec’s team not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend," a spokesperson said.

“We will be reviewing options for the last two episodes of the series (March 31 and April 7) which would not feature Ant who is taking time off to seek treatment. We very much hope that he gets the help that he needs.”

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Ant has been in 'crisis talks' with his management team hours after being arrested and held on suspicion of drink-driving.

Ant still has 18 months left of his three-year £30million 'golden handcuffs' deal with the TV company and had been scheduled to work on the three remaining episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Got Talent and November's I'm A Celebrity.

Emergency services at the scene

It was around this time last year that Ant's addictions to prescription painkillers and alcohol were really taking their toll on the telly star - which he came clean about in an emotional interview in July 2017.

A 'botched' knee operation had left Ant in agony and he'd turned to substance abuse to help cope with the pain.

Revealing his struggle to The Sun, he thanked his now estranged wife Lisa Armstrong for helping him though.

"I want to thank my wife, family and closest friends for helping me through this really difficult time. I was at the point where anything — prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs — I would take," he said in July.

"And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, 'You could have killed yourself'. The great thing is I spoke to a lot of the medical team and I'm not an alcoholic. I was just drinking too much to numb the pain.

Ant and Dec

"It was never crazy — I wouldn't wake up in the morning and have a drink. But it was the mixing pills with alcohol that was deadly," he added.

Ant then entered a private rehab centre for drying-out treatment and seemed back to his normal self when he returned to TV screens in November for I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.

"I've taken a little break from booze — I've done two months and I’ll do a little bit longer," Ant revealed in the same interview.

"But I'm looking forward to having a pint. God, yes! I can't go to Australia and not have a cold one at the surf club with Dec like we normally do.